Sunday, November 29, 2015

I love my vegetables, but sometimes a green salad is just a little boring, so take that salad and wrap it up!

Rice paper is a great way to wrap up salad. Simply wet a rice paper round, place your veggies of choice inside, and roll them up! The wet rice paper holds everything together. You can use shredded lettuce, shredded carrot, cilantro, chopped avocado, shredded cabbage, olives, thin sliced red pepper, chopped tomatoes, sprouts, chopped cucumber, and thin sliced turkey, prawns, tuna, or any other form of protein you would like. You can also add rice noodles to the mix, and I love a sprinkle of turmeric!

Seaweed wraps are another great option. Use similar ingredients to above. You can use some rice as well to make it more "sushi" like, or use finely shredded cabbage instead, which has a rice-like consistency. For seaweed wraps, I add all ingredients to one end of a dry square, leaving about an inch of open seaweed at that end (enough to roll over your mound of veggies), then roll up from that end. Once the roll is made, wet your finger with water and dab along the open edge of the wrap, to seal it up. Let the roll sit for a few minutes for the moisture of the vegetables to soften the seaweed, and then cut into one inch pieces. A bamboo sushi mat makes this process much easier!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Over the last year, we have added the use of high quality essential oils to our daily living. There are many areas these oils have greatly enhanced our lives, but one of the biggest "habits" we have adopted is a drop of lavender essential oil on a tissue under my 10 year old sons pillow before bed.

My son has always been a fairly good sleeper, but was wide awake one night past bedtime. I asked if he would like to try a drop of lavender under his pillow, and he obliged. At first he didn't like the smell, but within a minute he relaxed and fell asleep.

Fast forward to the following night, and he asked me if I could put another drop of "the stinky stuff" under his pillow again. It is now a nightly ritual, and he won't go to bed without it.

Lavender essential oil is very calming, to both mind and body. It is great diffused into the air, inhaled, or applied topically.

I use Young Living Essential Oils, as they are extremely high quality, pure oils. The company has solid business practices, and stand by their products.

Please note that I do have a financial interest in this company, and if you have a look at the website and like what you see, please use my direct link to sign up and order, so that the company knows who to thank. The absolute best place to start is the Premium Starter Kit. This kit includes 10 essential oils that can be used daily in a variety of ways, plus a diffuser, many samples, and instructions to get you started. Shipment usually arrives within a couple of days of ordering.

I know that I don't usually advertise a company on this blog, but I can't believe how much using Young Living oils have helped support our already healthy lifestyle, and I know they can help you too. This is a very simple health idea - easy to use, fun and effective!

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Green vegetables are an important part of any healthy diet. They fill you up with fiber so that you aren't as nibbly for the bad stuff. They are full of vitamins and minerals, supplying your body with an abundance of nutrients. They are low in calories, so you can eat a whole lot of them and satisfy your need to nibble without loading up on sugar and fat.

So why oh why do we not eat more green veggies? I take a bit of time every Sunday afternoon to wash and chop celery, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower and put them in a vegetable keeper in the fridge. I do not put them in the vegetable crisper though, I put them on a fridge shelf at eye level. That way when the fridge is opened up, the veggies are the first things that you see. I realize some of the vegetables I mentioned are not green, but they are just as important!

Another thing we do in this house is make a BIG green salad. This is enough for a few meals, and is kept in the fridge without dressing. If you pre-dress is the salad will go soggy. Then at supper time, I take out the amount we need, add a few extras, and then dress it. The next day we will use the rest, add some different extras for variety, and maybe a different dressing. I sometimes simply squeeze fresh lime juice on for the dressing. Just be frugal with any high fat dressings that you chose, as they can turn a healthy salad into a fat laden monster!

Other easy ways to get some greens into your day is to blend them into a smoothie. Spinach, kale, lettuce and parsley are all wonderful additions to a smoothie. You can add a little, so that you don't even notice the greens, or add a lot and have a "green" smoothie.

Shredded zucchini, carrots, and chopped spinach can be added to almost any soup, stew, omelet, and even baking. Shred or chopped very finely and finicky eaters won't even know it is there.

Greens are so nourishing and cleansing to our bodies, and can be used at every meal. So make sure you have at least one serving every day!

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A Little Bit About Denise

I am an independent distributor for Young Living Essential Oils in Nanaimo, BC. I believe careful use of essential oils be a part of everyone's health maintenance program. I also believe that any health maintenance program should include many other facets, including nutrition, exercise and other wellness endeavors, which is where this blog comes in! So please enjoy these simple health tips, and I do hope you find some useful ideas to add to your daily life! You can also visit my facebook page at www.facebook.com/simplehealthideas to find out about upcoming classes and info sessions.